Lecture examines persistent stereotypes of teenage girls

Jan. 24, 2005

KALAMAZOO--Why can't American popular narratives take teenage
girls seriously? Dr. Ilana Nash, assistant professor of English
at Western Michigan University, will address that and related
questions in a free, public lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan.
27, on the 10th Floor of Sprau Tower.

During her presentation, "'Stupid Teenage Girls': A Representational
Legacy of American Popular Culture," Nash asserts that in
this age of so-called "girl power" and feminist consciousness,
mainstream representations of teenage girls stay stuck in insulting
stereotypes that have barely changed over the past century.

Drawing from her forthcoming book, "American Sweethearts:
Teenage Girls in Popular Culture, 1930-1965," Nash addresses
the legacy of girls' diminishment in comic fiction, plays, film
and television, illuminating parallels between past and present.